


Alex's Therapy Session

by markaleen



Category: Taxi (TV)
Genre: Canon Continuation, Episode Related, Friendship, Gen, Therapy, alex and elaine are implied again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24282994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markaleen/pseuds/markaleen
Summary: A continuation of the episode 'Mr. Personalities'. One-shot.
Relationships: Elaine Nardo/Alex Reiger
Kudos: 1





	Alex's Therapy Session

Alex never imagined he could so easily fall under the spell of a psychiatrist. Not so much the doctor himself, rather, the whole idea of telling his life story to a stranger. He wasn't opposed to counseling per se. Latka clearly needed the therapy despite his initial objections. Then again, had he not talked with Dr. Jeffries he would have gone on as Arlo and Vic, not Alex Reiger. He recalled a time a couple of years back when he urged Elaine to get some help. She had needed it, too, before her temper drove her to hurt someone. But for him? He didn't see a need. He knew what his problems were. However, Latka… erm, 'Alex', made him see admitting them was a different story.

Latka as Alex took care of most of it. Now he was rambling on about the finer details of his life. His past came up quite a bit, things he hadn't thought about in over ten, sometimes twenty years. Dr. Jeffries listened, though he could tell his story wasn't half as interesting as Latka's case.

"You mentioned your divorce a lot," Dr. Jeffries interjected at one point. "How long did you say you were married?"

"About five years," Alex answered.

The doctor nodded. "Marriage is a big part of anyone's life, but I'm wondering how those short five years managed to shape so much of your present life."

Alex scoffed. "Not so short when you're married to Phyllis Bornstein."

"I thought she left you?"

"She did, but she was still a nag."

"Do you often make jokes when you're feeling uncomfortable?"

"Who said anything about feeling uncomfortable?"

The octave of his voice has risen. He should have known better than to fib to a psychiatrist. Upon Dr. Jeffries's look, he admitted after a sigh, "I suppose it's become a habit."

"What makes you so uncomfortable about your marriage?"

"I wouldn't say the discomfort lies in the marriage itself. Annoyance, yes, but I guess I can't blame her for cheating on me when I take an honest look back. I'm not an exciting guy."

"Do you want to be?" Dr. Jeffries questioned.

"In theory, sure. Overall, no. I'm fine with how things are."

"It doesn't appear that way."

Again, Alex sighed. "Would I like to feel fulfilled with what I'm doing in life? Absolutely. I'm not entirely unsatisfied. Latka already covered the nature of the relationship with my friends. I feel good being able to help them. Really, I do. I just wish it could work both ways once in a while, you know?"

The doctor nodded. "Is there anyone you feel you can reach out to?"

"Elaine," he answered readily. "She's been there for me during some rough times. But I don't like to dump anything on her. I don't need to tell you how busy she is."

"From what I know about Elaine I think she's just as willing to lend an ear as you are."

Now Alex nodded but didn't say anything more.

Dr. Jeffries went on. "Is there something else stopping you?"

Sitting up, uneasy again, he replied, "All due respect, Doc, I don't know if I want to discuss her. She's your patient."

"Anything you say is held in strict confidence."

"It's not that, I just don't know what she's said or anything. I don't want to make a fool of myself."

Surrendering, Dr. Jeffries said, "You don't have to say anything you don't want to. Is there someone else you feel you can confide in?"

Alex thought a moment, but his mind wandered right back to Elaine. "I do confide in her. Well, really, she drags it out of me. She's got an annoying way of doing that. I can't slip anything past her."

Nodding, an amused smile coming into his expression, the doctor said, "Then I suspect she's aware that something is eating at you."

Alex shrugged. He wasn't sure. "Maybe," he said eventually.

"How often do you talk to her?" Dr. Jeffries said carefully. "Nothing specific, just the frequency."

With an edge to his voice, Alex answered, "I dunno. I don't keep tally. I see her every day. Conversation just happens. I don't seek her out, though I'm sure you already figured that."

"If your friends know what's going on, they might not expect you to have all the answers."

"Nothing is going on, that's just it. I'm not depressed, Doc. I just am. That's all. I can find joy in things. I look forward to my ski trips and enjoy throwing back a few with the guys. The question is what do I do with the rest of it? Where are you going with this, anyhow? What does Elaine have to do with anything?"

Dr. Jeffries shrugged. "I suppose my question is if you have any love in your life?"

Throwing his hands up, Alex quipped, "I should have known."

"Should have known what?"

"I should have known she told you what happened in Europe last month." He stood and paced.

"I cannot discuss anything Elaine has mentioned in our sessions. What happened in Europe?"

"Like you don't know," Alex replied, voice thick with sarcasm. He stopped moving around long enough to study Dr. Jeffries' face, ultimately unable to gather if he knew or not. Moving again, he added, "You wouldn't be asking me if you didn't know."

"My question was if you have any love in your life," the doctor reminded. "The way you carry on about her makes me think a part of you wishes her to be more than a friend."

Alex stopped again. After a long pause, he said, "I haven't carried on about her."

Almost smirking, Dr. Jeffries said, "I beg to differ."

Waving his hand, Alex grumbled, "Ah, what do you know."

"You've mentioned her significantly more than anyone else this past hour than anyone with the possible exception of your ex-wife."

"So what? She's a good friend. My best friend if I had to choose."

After another minute or so of walking in circles, Alex surrendered to the chair again. He continued.

"Have I thought – in the past, mind you – that she might be someone I could share my life with. Yeah, sure. You've seen her. I don't have to tell you how attractive she is. But that was years ago. Before we were friends. I mean, for a while she was just another cabbie. I enjoyed her company but I'm kinda set in my ways. Maybe I thought about it a couple of times later on but only in passing. She knew it, I knew it. It's not a subject we've entirely avoided."

"Has knowing her affected your dating life?"

"Not particularly, no. She's set me up a few times though I doubt that's what you're phishing for."

"I'm not 'phishing' for anything, Alex. You feel as though you're missing something out of life. A relationship isn't the only way to fill those spaces, granted, it is a big one. You regret missing out on your daughter's childhood. Perhaps part of your attraction to Elaine is her children."

"Come again?"

"We'd need another session to get into your love life outside of your ex-wife. I'd be curious to learn your dating patterns."

"See, this is one thing I've always had against coming to therapy. I get that my poor choice in women results from my past, but that all won't be fixed by going out with Elaine."

"That's not what I'm suggesting," Dr. Jeffries' said sternly but kindly. "My job is to piece together the bigger picture. I mention Elaine's children because your desire to live out your paternal instincts could be driving you. You've taken on a fatherly role in your social circle. Do kids expect their parents to have issues of their own? Not usually. Parents are often idealized during youth. Tell me, was this the role you played in your past groups of friends?"

"… I don't remember," Alex said hesitantly.

"You repressed your desire to be a father and somehow created a group of people that look to you for guidance and advice. I really would like to get to know more about the women you date, but for now, I'll surmise that you've been able to build a more solid friendship with Elaine because of the involvement with her children."

"So, let me get this straight… You're saying not only am I trying to be Elaine's father but also that I'm attracted to her children?"

"Come one, Alex, you know what I'm implying."

After a sigh and without much consent to his movements, Alex nodded.

"If that's all true, why do I resist a romantic relationship with her?"

Dr. Jeffries shrugged, albeit knowingly. "Perhaps you're afraid things will play out the same as they did with your ex-wife and your daughter."

It took Alex a couple of minutes to process the doctor's words and formulate his response. He searched for every reason why he was wrong. Sure, perhaps Phyllis did play a part in choosing women who were destined to leave him. Maybe the need to nurture did play a part in his willingness to meddle in his friends' lives. But how had he narrowed matters down to Elaine? What had she said to him? Whatever it was must have been fresh in his head for him to be harping on the topic.

Then again, what if she hadn't mentioned anything about them? She had more important things to talk about rather than him and the handful of times they'd acted on their attractions. What happened in Vienna was a bit more significant, but for all intents and purposes, a lot of those details were a blur now. Aside from that night, the trip was something he'd be happy to forget entirely.

"Alex?"

"Yeah," he replied, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Is any of this making sense?"

"Not really. I can't say there's no truth to what you said in general, but I don't think it applies to Elaine. Okay sure, she has kids and I admit I like spending time with them. They get along with me fine. But I don't – I didn't – think of them when thinking about the possibility of me and Elaine. Any fear of repeating history isn't my reasoning either."

"What does come to mind?"

Against his better judgment, Alex answered. "That we have a good and healthy friendship. I've never had that with a woman before. I don't want to get involved romantically and have all of it change. Romance _is_ different than a platonic friendship no matter how strong the friendship is. It's less emotional, you know? Then there's the fact we work together. We might not be working in a firm or something high profile but it's still a messy situation. Then there are our ages. Sure, I have dated women younger than her but I've dated enough of them to know the difference is just too much sometimes. She's got her aspirations and I'd only get in the way. I care about her too much to hold her back. She needs someone who can keep up with her, not a middle-aged man set in his ways."

"Very sensible."

"That's it?"

"What would you like me to say?" Dr. Jeffries asked.

"I don't know. I just assumed after dragging all that out of me you'd have the solution."

"The solution has to come from yourself. Saying it out loud to someone can help give a different perspective. I'm not suggesting the answer to your life is to go after her. Identifying what you're longing for deep down will help you take the steps necessary to obtain it. It may be several things, however, from what I've been able to put together in this session, everything comes back to the loss of your daughter and the damaged pride from your wife cheating and leaving you for another man. You keep people at an emotional distance."

"That's not… entirely true."

Dr. Jeffries smiled sympathetically. "Would you object to another session some time? We're nearly out of time and I feel another hour or two could benefit you."

Resisting the urge to mumble an, 'of course', Alex simply nodded. "I guess that would be fine."

"Glad to hear it." Standing, Dr. Jeffries held out his hand. "I think we've accomplished a lot today, Alex."

He shook his hand. "You'd think that would make me feel better."

"In time it will. Be sure to talk to my receptionist on your way out to set up another appointment."

Alex nodded. "Thanks, Doc."

Walking out of the office, Alex's head spun. Not only because he'd never imagined sitting through a counseling session, let alone listen to the analysis, but also because it was Latka who brought him to this point. Elaine kept coming back to mind as well. The timing couldn't have been worse. While nothing had been awkward between them, he certainly found he noticed her more. The jealousy he felt that afternoon when she made a date with Latka as himself startled him, too. He hated how glad he was when he changed back to the regular Latka in time for the concert.

He loved Elaine. That much was too obvious not to admit. Whether that love leaned more toward a romantic or platonic nature was the question – and not one he intended to discuss with Dr. Jeffries again. He didn't know why he agreed to another session. Despite how easily he'd rambled on, the discomfort talking with him wasn't limited to topics of Elaine. There was also Latka's part. What if what he'd been present to hear today was only a fraction of what'd he'd been able to talk about as Alex? Did Dr. Jeffries know something more from Latka's sessions? Was that why he pressed certain topics? Cathy? Elaine? His friends?

He stopped walking, the building now barely in sight. He had to cancel, he decided, but only for as long as it took him to turn around. _No_ , he thought. No, he had to follow through. The hope he'd felt when he thought Latka had the answer to his life was too great to brush off. Maybe the guy was on to something with the connection between Cathy and Elaine's kids. After all, it was Elaine who had urged him to call Cathy after fifteen years after only knowing him for fifteen minutes. He owed her a lot for that. But was that the only reason he'd ever felt something more significant for Elaine? It couldn't be. There was a lot he liked about her.

Turning back the way he was going, he muttered to himself, "If only there were someone I could tell the reasons why we should be together to…" He breathed. "Someday, maybe."


End file.
